


win or lose

by Baroness_Blixen



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Early Partnership, F/M, Season 1, UST, mulder and scully go running together, still getting to know each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 14:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19175635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen
Summary: Mulder challenges Scully to join him on a fun run.





	win or lose

“Scully, come on.“ Mulder, wearing an old ragged Oxford shirt and shorts, is giving her his best imitation of a human bouncing ball while trying to convince her to join him on his run. Watching him is enough exercise for her. 

“I appreciate the offer, but I need to work on this report.“ Because you aren‘t, she thinks, but doesn‘t voice her thoughts. She hasn‘t known Mulder long, but long enough to know he doesn‘t particularly care about paperwork. 

“It‘s going to be fun.“ Another thing she‘s learned in the months they’ve worked together is that hey both have different ideas of what fun means.

“Mulder, I really need to finish this.“

“How about,“ he stops jumping for a moment, “we make it even more… interesting.“

“Interesting how?“

“If you beat me, I will finish the report.“

“Mulder-“

He waggles his eyebrows at her. “You‘re scared of a challenge, Scully?“

“Never.“ She sits up straighter. “So what do you propose?“

“5 miles, you and me, the loser gets to write the report.“

Glancing at his long legs, his toned thighs Scully knows she should say no. She should stand her ground and send him on his way. The idea that she just might beat him at his own game tickles her in all the right places though. “And the winner?“ she asks. She clicks save on her document; the decision is made.

Mulder stares at her with big eyes. “The winner… doesn‘t have to write the reports,“ he answers lamely while Scully shuts down the laptop.

“That‘s boring, Mulder,“ she whispers in passing, grabbing her overnight bag; it’s a good thing she packed her running clothes. “Let me get changed and then I‘ll make you an offer you can‘t refuse.“ She winks for emphasis but doesn’t wait for him to comment. Just before she closes the bathroom door, she feels his eyes on him. She smiles.

There’s no denying Mulder’s clandestine look at her legs as she returns less than ten minutes later. He’s lounging on her bed and munching on sunflower seeds. Who has sunflower seeds on them when they’re about to exercise? Mulder is like an unfinished puzzle. She has enough pieces to have a clear picture, but the details are still missing.

"Let’s go,” she says to cover up the blush that’s creeping into her cheeks. Mulder has never looked at her like that. So appreciative. She doesn’t know what to make of it. Outside, a gentle breeze greets them. The sun is low, ready to set soon. They don’t have much time if they want to make it back before darkness falls.

Mulder nudges her shoulder with hers. “Perfect conditions for a run, huh?” He’s grinning as if he’s already won the race. Without her heels, he towers over her and she has to crane her neck to look into his eyes.

“Mulder, I’d like to be back before it’s dark. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“There are no monsters hiding in the woods, Scully. Are you scared of the dark?”

“I’m not scared,” she says, dipping low to stretch her muscles. “I just don’t want us to get lost.”

“We won’t.” Mulder’s head appears in front of her, upside down, as he stretches, too. “I promise. You ready?” He holds out his hand to help her up and for a moment they lock eyes. Scully is reminded of the boxing matches her brothers used to watch. Mulder gives her a lopsided smile and breaks the tension.

“I’m ready,” she says.

“In the interest of fairness, should I give you-” before Mulder can finish his sentence, Scully sprints off and throws him a triumphant look.

“Loser writes the report, Mulder!”

They quickly fall into step and easy, comfortable silence. It’s quiet out here and all Scully hears is their controlled breathing, their feet on the ground. They’re in sync. She smiles when she notices the pattern. One, two, one, two, one, two. Even in this, they work well together.

“How often do you do this?” Mulder asks her.

“Go running with strange men?”

“Haha.”

“Not as often as I should. You?”

“As often as I can. It- it helps me focus.”

“That’s good. You’ll need focus when you write that report.” She grins and Mulder chuckles.

Without warning, he speeds up. “We’ll see about that.” She hears him laugh and starts sprinting to catch up with him. Her lungs protest as she comes closer and closer. Mulder turns his head, probably to see how close she is, and she wants to warn him about the sticks and stones on the path. Before she can, though, Mulder, his previous smile turning into a comical grimace, stumbles and lands on the ground with a huff. There’s a loud crack followed by a yelp that makes Scully’s blood turn cold.

“Mulder, are you all right?”

“You caught up with me,” he says, trying to laugh. He coughs instead. “I’m fine.” He gets up without any help from her and carefully jogs on the spot. “See? I didn’t hurt anything. My ego, maybe.”

“Mulder, come here,” Scully says; there’s a tear in his shorts and there’s blood. “Let me look at that.”

“At what?” He lowers his eyes and winces when he sees it. “It’s nothing serious.”

“Get over here,” Scully repeats and this time he hobbles over, looking miserable. “Take off your shorts.”

He stares at her. “I don’t think-”

“I need to examine it.”

He peels off his shorts and mumbles something Scully doesn’t understand. Maybe it’s better that way. She wishes she had her gloves on her, her first-aid-kit. Somehow she thinks she’ll be using it a lot with Mulder around.

Mulder’s leg twitches as she touches it. She murmurs a soft apology as her fingers trail over his hot, sensitive skin.

“So you really are a doctor, huh?” Scully understands his discomfort. The cut is high up on his thigh and her touch is intimate.

“I am. It’s just an abrasion, Mulder,” she comes up and hands him his shorts back. He quickly puts them on. “I need to clean it when we’re back at the hotel. Let’s turn around.” She tugs at his hand and he follows her, looking defeated.

“I guess that means you won. I have to write the report.”

“We’ll see.”

“Hey, you never told me what the winner gets. I’m in your debt now." 

Scully doesn’t look at him. She almost winces when she thinks of earlier, high on accepting his challenge, thinking of ways she could embarrass him if she won. Up until now, it had completely slipped her mind. "Let’s forget about that.”

“I don’t want to forget about it.” Mulder takes her arm and his touch is insistent, yet gentle.

“Tell you what,” Scully says, “once your wound is healed, we will try this again.”

“And the winner?” She adds another thing to her ever-expanding list of Mulderisms: he is like a dog with a bone, stubborn to a fault. She likes it. 

“The winner gets to decide what they want to do.”

Mulder doesn’t look convinced. “And you said I’m boring.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Scully continues. “The winner gets to decide what the want to do… to the loser. Or with them.”


End file.
